Pickin' Blackberries and makin' cobbler

When I was a kid my mom would take us blackberry pickin' around town...we'd find 'the good spots' along fences, by road sides, or at the park. We'd pick until our hands were tinted pink of juice and our bowls were full of fruit. So this weekend my mom and I decided to go pickin' in her secret berry spot she found in my home town. There were a ton of berries, and more to come in the following weeks. We made an awesome cobbler we used to make sometimes, so I've attached some photos and the recipe. enjoy!

Funny Fruit Cobbler:

1 C. Sugar

1 C. flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 C. milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons butter

4 C fruit
(choice seasoning: lemon, nutmeg, or cinnamon- if you like)

preheat oven to 375degrees.

Mix all ingredients, except butter and fruit. Blend well.

Use butter to grease a 2-quart pyrex dish, and pour in batter.

Add fruit, press into batter.

(Season if desired)

Bake at 375degrees for 45 mins!

Sponge candy

My family loves this candy, and you can really only get it in Pennsylvania, and maybe the surrounding states. It's a light an airy sponge-like toffee, then dipped in chocolate. So this Christmas, my boyfriend and I made a batch at 2 am, as a Christmas surprise for the fam!

It was so much fun, not to mention pretty quick and easy, so I thought I'd share the recipe and images. It puffed up so fast we were cracking up, this would be a fun candy to make with kids!

Note: The recipe doesn't include the chocolate dipping. I used a double boiler (2 pots, the bottom one with water to boil, the top with chocolate to melt). I used a 50% milk chocolate, 50% dark chocolate mix.

1 c. sugar
1 c. dark corn syrup
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. baking soda


1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and vinegar in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Cover pan for 1 minute to allow the steam to wash down the sugar crystals that cling to side of pan, or whip down the crystals with a damp cloth.

2. Uncover pan; insert candy thermometer. Cook without stirring until candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees (hard crack stage).

3. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Pour into a buttered 9 inch square pan. It's not necessary to spread, as the mixture will bubble and spread itself. Cool in pan on wire rack.

4. Break cooled sponge in pieces. Store 2-3 weeks in a tightly covered container with foil or plastic wrap between layers.

(recipe copied from cooks.com)